Community Newsletter: Q&A: What does the 2009 digital-TV switch actually mean?
- 11/30/07 9:08 AM
Misinformation? Where does it come from?
by carolina1 - 11/27/07 10:57 AM In reply to: 2009 and the DTV transition by DTVEngineerHow about the Best Buy salesman telling my elderly mother that her TV will be obsolete in one year and she had to replace it now, because there would be a shortage of TV sets next year.
I wouldn't have mentioned the store name except a seperate location (same store) told her that they wouldn't sell her a computer without the expensive surge protector. Luckily she walked away.
SCUM!
Misinformation
by DTVEngineer - 12/1/07 4:25 PM In reply to: Misinformation? Where does it come from? by carolina1carolina1, you described exactly one of the sources of misinformation I had in mind. Also the salesmen of all stripes telling customers they will be unable to receive HD unless they subscribe to cable or satellite.
Sometimes well-meaning newspaper columnists (who shall go nameless here) spread incomplete information, if not misinformation, by not identifying ALL of the choices a consumer may choose from. I am disgusted by the writers who sometimes refuse to acknowledge that free HDTV can be had over the air with an antenna - and a new TV or converter box, of course.
Big Scary Digital....
by gingaskunk - 11/10/07 9:21 PM In reply to: What does the 2009 digital-TV switch actually mean? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I think it is important, if we are going to look at this question, to first of all divide up those who get their TV from a provider (cable, satellite etc), and those who get the free "over-the-air" type TV with an antenna.
Those of you in the first group need not worry. Your set-top box will continue to do the work for you of getting the signal to your TV the same way it always has.
Now, what about those of us (including me) who use the free TV? Well, first of all, although it looks pretty firmly set for now, the date that we were supposed to move to an all digital signal has been moved back by the Federal Government several times.
When it does eventually change over, how will you deal with that? Well, actually surprisingly simply.
If you already have a TV that can receive a digital signal, then you are all set (all flat panel TVs you can buy today receive digital signals, so no worries there Queenie). Please don't confuse High Definition (HD) with digital. HD is an indication of a more detailed picture, but digital signal can broadcast just normal, lower definition pictures too, so you won't have to switch to any special HDTV.
If you have an older, non digital TV (we have 2 in our house), then you will need a signal converter. This is simply a box that sits on top of the TV. You plug your antenna into one socket and your TV into the other and switch it on. There are no monthly fees or other costs associated with it. This box essentially just listens to the incoming digital signal and sends out the same information in an analogue format for your TV.
The next natural question is where do you get these boxes and how much do they cost? The short answer is that we don't know yet. I would expect to see some government subsidy programs out there though. In fact here in Houston our local TV station was giving them away for free by mail. You just sent in a postcard with your details and they mailed one out to you. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if some similar "sponsorship" happened nearer the time on a more widespread basis.
I wouldn't worry too much about the transition right now though. Trust me, by the time it actually arrives I think you will be sick of hearing about it through news reports and "consumer watchdog" type shows. If you are buying a TV between now and then and want to make sure it won't need a set top box, just check in store, or the documentation to make sure it can receive a digital signal.
Some people will drop Cable and Satellite service.
by massimj - 11/19/07 1:10 PM In reply to: Big Scary Digital.... by gingaskunkAnyone on cable will not need a set top box unless they want to pay for PPV, HBO, Show Time or any other premium service. The cable will still feed Analog Tv, or NON-QAM to the people who have the cable going directly into a TV, just the way it works today. There is no mandate for cable providers to stop sending TV in any certain way.
If you have a box, be it cable, or satellite, you will notice nothing when March 17th 2009 comes around.
The HD Tv is coming because of demand from consumers, not by mandate by our government. Digital Tv is by mandate, and it is to fit more information in less space, and do it in a much better way The picture quality will not only be better, but the signal you receive on an antenna will be much easier to get, with much better results than you ever though there could be from an antenna. In fact, I predict that many people will dump their cable and satellite company once they find how easy it is to get awesome Tv on a simple $25 antenna and a simple inexpensive ATSC set top box. I have been using an ATSC tuner for more than two years. I have worked with my local Fox station to get the buggs out of their new HD transmitters. That was almost a year ago. I even experienced my first disapointment with the downing of Tube TV on Fox's secondary digital channel.
Extended Basic Cable - Analog
by EmiLee69 - 11/19/07 1:45 PM In reply to: Some people will drop Cable and Satellite service. by massimjmassimj wrote:
Anyone on cable will not need a set top box unless they want to pay for PPV, HBO, Show Time or any other premium service. The cable will still feed Analog Tv, or NON-QAM to the people who have the cable going directly into a TV, just the way it works today. There is no mandate for cable providers to stop sending TV in any certain way.
-----------------------
While there is no mandate for cable providers to stop sending analog broadcasts, I'm concerned that there is also no mandate for them to continue sending the analog broadcasts. In this area, Comcast seems intent on getting everyone to upgrade to digital, and the scheduled changeover in 2009 might be just the opportunity they are looking for to eliminate service to analog customers.
We have had the Extended Basic package for some time. I don't even know if Comcast offers that package anymore---it isn't listed on their website as an option. For our family, the Extended Basic is perfect for us. We don't want the so-called premium stations, Comcast-on-Demand, HBO, etc. However, we do like having more than just broadcast TV from which to choose. We recently had a small monthly fee increase at the same time that Comcast eliminated several channels from our lineup. I have some concern that, given the big push to get subscribers to upgrade to digital, Comcast might gradually eliminate the Extended Basic cable service prior to 2009.
In addition, we have adult twin daughters who are developmentally delayed, with mulitple handicaps. They both live at home with us, and they both enjoy being able to watch TV in their own room. Frankly, my husband and I appreciate being able to retreat to our own bedroom occasionally and watch TV---especially valuable for me, as a 24-hour-a-day caretaker for my daughters. With digital, we would have to either replace 4 televisions or deal with the separate box; I'm not sure how well my daughters would adapt to using another remote and dealing with the box. Secondly, we would, I presume, have to pay an additional fee for each additional TV. Although this post probably makes it seem like we watch TV constantly, we really don't. But we do like our current lineup of TV stations available with the Extended Basic. So, although we like the added choices cable offers, I think we already pay about as much as we are willing/able to pay for those choices. If we have to pay an additional charge for each TV, then we will probably have to make the choice to do without.
I realize our circumstances are unique and do not reflect the needs of most cable TV subscribers. Nevertheless, it is a concern. After reading this thread, I finally emailed Comcast asking whether they would continue to support their analog customers beyond 2009. It will be interesting to see what they say.
DIGITAL SWITCHOVER
by just4now - 11/19/07 2:03 PM In reply to: Some people will drop Cable and Satellite service. by massimjDIGITAL SWITCHOVER:
I have three analog TV’s on air/antenna. I also have four VCR’s and 2 ea DVR play/record units. Everything is Analog. The one antenna feeds all the TV’s. It is said that you can get two $40.00 certificates from the government to purchase two digital boxes and they might cost $100.00 each. This leaves me with a cost of $220.00 out of pocket! Being on a retired income this does not set too well. I have several questions.
1. Since I have one antenna feeding all analog TV’s do I really need 2 or 3 digital to analog converter boxes? Can I get by with one to feed everything?
2. Since all the VCR’s & DVR units are all analog, how will they be affected? I have seen little mention of them. Mostly the attention has been on TV reception.
3. Are all current VCR’s & CD units now obsolete? I have noticed that many people are giving these units away for free. How will this changeover affect them?
4. Can I have this digital/analog converter stationed at the output of my antenna preamp? And this brings up another question. Since my antenna pre-amp is analog, how will it be affected? I just purchased this pre-amp this year too, not thinking about the changeover.
5. And last but not least, I also updated my analog antenna this year, again not thinking about the changeover. How will this antenna receive digital signals compared to analog signals? Better or worse or the same? It seems to me that the antenna should be designed specifically for digital signals which is something I was not thinking about.
This changeover is catching all of us by surprise even though I guess we knew it was in the pipeline. Many of us will have a lot of questions and I am sure there will be a lot of confusion also. If you have a site or a answer on this thread that will answer all of the above questions I would appreciate pointing them out. Thank you much/Lee
From Australia?
by Gooie - 11/19/07 2:41 PM In reply to: DIGITAL SWITCHOVER by just4nowAlthough I can't offer too much help not living in the US, in Australia the switch has become pretty much standard, i think we still have another 5 years or so untill it becomes manditory but to clear some things up for you based on our switch...
- Your antenna won't so much matter, as long as it is not a set of rabbit ears it should be ok.
- The 'converter boxes' are called 'Set top boxes' or so it seems to be the standard name, and yes, you will need one for each tv you own unless anything new comes out. Basically you plug your existing antenna into the box, then plug it into the tv's RCA inputs. You then control the channel settings and change channels through the set top box. (bah, another remote!)
- your VCR can remain plugged into your tv as is, you could do something like this:
Antenna > [Coaxial Cable] > Set top box > [ RCA cables ] > VCR > [ coacial OR rca cables] > TV
You can get HD set top boxes i guess, using HDMI output, but bear in mind that a SD set top box gives a picture just about as good as a DVD player anyway.
There is one downfall to this digital thing however... Because of how the signals are transmitted you get different types of interference and 'distortion' or noise. You will have noticed you get some Analoge channels with a bit of fuzz etc, well this won't happen with digital tv, what will happen is that you get a perfectly crisp picture BUT every few minutes, you might skip a frame or so of what is playing, and depending on how good your reception is, ultimatly will affect wether or not you notice it. Frankly my reception is horrid and with a set top box, i barley notice the skipping of frames, happens once every 15 minutes or so, and is less than a second worth of film...
Cost - the big factor.
If you ask me this just a way for the government to make money. They say HD is better for you and you need Digital tv, it's "great" but is free-to-air tv really worth that much concern? anyway - In australia a set top box costs anywhere from $60 - $300 AU ranging from a SD tuner to a HD Buffered Library. i guess that translates to $40 US or so, keep in mind that prices do drop, being the first kid on the block to have a set top box might build your ego for a few months, but when it becomes more commercialised, you could have purchased one 10 times as good for the same price.
Your questions
by dbucciar - 11/20/07 8:53 AM In reply to: DIGITAL SWITCHOVER by just4nowLet me try to answer your questions... I'm sure the rest of the community will chime in if I get anything wrong 
1. You could probably split the output of the D/A converter box to 2 or more TVs, but then all the connected TVs would get the same channel. i.e. You tune the converter box to the digital channel you want, and it outputs an analog version of just that channel.
(There might be a market for a D/A converter box that decodes all the available digital signals and puts them out on a combined set of analog signals, but I don't know of any, and I assume it would be fairly expensive.)
2. You would have to attach a converter box to the VCR/DVR and tune the converter box to the channel you want to record. This is probably going to be the biggest inconvenience of the entire transition.
3. Assuming they don't have an integrated digital tuner, they will become obsolete -- unless you install a D/A converter box to 'feed' them as described in #2.
4. 'Analog' antennas will receive the digital broadcasts just fine. You don't need to get anything else. (All the broadcast digital channels are in the same VHF/UHF frequency bands that your existing antenna is designed to receive.)
Free? no box?..
by DADSGETNDOWN - 11/28/07 3:02 PM In reply to: Big Scary Digital.... by gingaskunkHello my friend, just wanted to add, That I pay for my basic cable and do not use a box, I do get the better part of 125 channels, We prefered to not use a box for several reasons, you know space, joining with other units, recording, recording while watching something else, which you can not do with the digital box we have.
digital 2009
by tbone69069 - 11/10/07 9:38 PM In reply to: What does the 2009 digital-TV switch actually mean? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The first question is. I don't think you have to worry about your government going digital and how it will affect your tv. What will happen is you will have to get a digital top box in order to see the channels being brodcasted. I have a regular tv that isn't capable of HD tv and I am in no hurry to get one. I was at best buy and looking at all the different tv's. I found when the movement of the peopke was fast. They were blurry. I also noticed the pixels in the white background on all the tv's.
As for the seconf question. Just because you need ther box to see the channels. You don't have to buy any of the extra channels. Comcast will just keep bugging you about the great new previews and try to sucker you into buying the packages. I have been going through that with my Cable company here in Canada. Oour condo got the boxes for free. I think we got the used junk boxes as they go flakey once in a while. Every time they call me up to see if I want the movie channels or sports channels. I tell them to get their boxes working properly and then I might think about looking at getting more channels. Not that I will be getting them in the near future.
Ron
The Digital Dilema - Analog Signal Cessation
by Hi-def Jeff - 11/11/07 11:42 AM In reply to: What does the 2009 digital-TV switch actually mean? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
February 17, 2009 marks the end of analog signal transmission.
The loss of analog signal will affect those who are watching older analog TVs (no digital tuner) using an antenna. These TV's will certainly go blank on the 17th. To convert the older TV's to accept the digital signal, you would use a digital conversion box. The government is providing some help to that end in the form of a $40.00 coupon (two per household) to offset the cost of the box which is expected to be $60.00 to $70.00. The coupons should be available starting in January 2008. This conversion box will not affect your cable or satellite channels, it will allow you to use an antenna to receive local expanded digital broadcasts.
It will NOT affect those who are watching their older TV's hooked to a cable box or satellite receiver.
If you have an HDTV with a ATSC digital tuner (NOT a monitor or HD Ready TV) the change will not effect you.
When purchasing a new TV, it should be clearly labeled with the tuner type. It should have an ATSC digital tuner and the TV would be labeled SDTV (Standard Definition Digital), EDTV (Enhanced Definition Digital), or HDTV (High Definition Digital).
Queenie, when considering a bedroom TV flat screen be careful concerning viewing distance and viewing angle. If you are changing from an tube TV to a flat screen, you would need to be able to angle the flat screen to avoid compromising the picture. Just like a laptop screen, when the angle of view is too high or too low, the picture darkens considerably and could make the new TV unwatchable. An example of this would be a tube TV on a tall dresser. The tube TV looks fine from the bed while a flat screen would need to be angled down at you.
Hope this helps.
Highdef Jeff
http://www.wowvision.tv
CABLE READY HDTV IS POSSIBLE WITH QAM RECEIVERS
by wkorbe - 11/11/07 9:44 PM In reply to: What does the 2009 digital-TV switch actually mean? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
When you buy an HDTV make sure it includes a QAM receiver. This is the standard for how CATV encodes unscrambled HD channels. It future proofs your investment.
I have been enjoying all the the local HD channels on Comcast in Silicon Valley up until just a few weeks ago when they decided to scramble them.
Either market forces (competition) or when the regulators wake up, I am pretty certain that local channels will become unscrambled once again in the future on cable and you will have Cable ready HD just like you have today. You can even buy a DVD recorder with a QAM cable ready HDTV receiver (Panasonic at Costco).
Being a Cable subscriber for ~30 years and always using Cable Ready (never owned or want to own a Set Top Box) I was prepared to stick with Cable through the transition. Now we are moving back to the 60s era again when all programming requires a monthly fee for each TV or for each recording device (sort of like back when we rented telephones from Ma Bell and before Cable Ready TVs).
So although you may not get immediate satisfaction with your local Cable, buy a HDTV with a QAM receiver (not just NTSC, ATSC) and this will future proof your investment for when Cable Ready returns for local programming.
Buying a QAM receiver will future proof your investments since you dont want to rent lots of set top boxes, buy converters for every TV and every recorder in your house, or throw away all your TV / recorder remotes, and you don't want to forget about programming your VTRs.
You may be stuck for a little while until the regulatory agencies brings the Cable industry back from the 1960s and requires them to at least put the local channels unscrambled on the cable once again, or you can help force their hand by giving up cable and spendig the $1000 a year on an antenna system (soon pays for itself) until such time that Cable Ready Local HD broadcasting using QAM returns to a Cable near you.
Meanwhile, I would advocate informing your cable company you want Cable Ready QAM for local channels in HD and tell your local regulators the same. This way HD can transition to a service like you have today where you buy basic or extended basic cable and these channels are cable ready on QAM. Just like today you can buy set top boxes for premium channels, but not require it for the channels you receive today as Cable Ready.
To learn more just search for "QAM Tuner" at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_tuner and there are some more technical details.
If true, they are breaking the law
by jorabi - 11/19/07 12:46 PM In reply to: CABLE READY HDTV IS POSSIBLE WITH QAM RECEIVERS by wkorbeThe FCC law has been on the books for a while ... local digital channels MUST be included in the lowest cable tier available (i.e., Basic cable) for no additional charge. They have to be in clear QAM.
If Comcast is scrambling them, they are in violation and should be reported to the FCC. You don't have to wait for regulatory changes!
digital TV
by Domestech - 11/19/07 1:44 PM In reply to: CABLE READY HDTV IS POSSIBLE WITH QAM RECEIVERS by wkorbeA number of years ago I made a cold leap into a new technique that produced interesting results. A power failure prevented veiwing and I was forced to find alternate resources. It took about a week or so and I found choices with significant superiority to content. It happened in my apartment complex and the results were beyond what I expected. I was blindsided by the simplicity of it. Talking among my co-tenants I discovered that the simplicty of a conversation with someone provide all the things I looked for on TV. In fact it related more to my world than anything I could think of. Humor, Relavent News, Interest, and the plus.... that I have control of the media. No commercials and I'm on top of current events. A quick newspaper scan brings me up to date on current events that I actually am part of. Get a life with no commercials or propaganda. Turn off Both the TV and The radio. Real life is more engrossing than TV could ever be. As an ad say's "Try it! You'll like It ! "
TV for the superbowl is the exception for the grandure spectacle that it is. Totally american entertaiment at it's gaudiest. I love it!
OTHER choices
by anusinov - 11/12/07 7:49 AM In reply to: What does the 2009 digital-TV switch actually mean? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You can also purchase sevice from one out of two sattellite carriers Direct TV or Dish Network and pay for their services, or buy over the air anthenna (if you have built in HD receiver) and pay NOTHING. If you do not have built in HD receiver (so-called HD-ready) buy "over the air receiver" http://www.myfreehdtv.org/body.html and save money.
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